How can I make my own menu?

[Fresh123]

For using C++ Applications I need to install C++ Redist first, but how can I check if the C++ Redist is installed, and of course respond any case.
Well, I saw some menus in discs, and I saw that every EXE file has it's INI file.. so I played a bit with this and I've got pretty good control from the INI but I'm still confused, and I wonna make my own EXE that doesn't need any Redist, like those.

[webJose]

Are you talking about the autorun feature of Windows (I don't know a thing about Linux, so please spare me if I should have asked about Linux too!)?

[Fresh123]

I don't know about linux, and it's not the autorun, I mean the EXE itself working with INI, I think INI is unique to windows.

[webJose]

I don't know about Linux either, hehe. FYI, since you seem to be talking about a very specific Windows feature, I recommend that you post in the Windows Programming forum in the future.

As for the problem at hand, I still think you are talking about Autorun.inf located in the root of a USB flash drive or CD/DVD. Note that it is .INF and not .INI. But if you really mean .INI then I'm at a loss here. Can you give an example?

[Fresh123]

Well I meant INI, not the BOOT stuff I meant the menu itslef that shows before you install a game or somthing else that require a redist... soo it will be kind of anoying if the first thing the user will see is the redist installtion and I don't even know how to call my program after the installation is fully completed.. you know what I mean? (although my bad english...)

[webJose]

Hi. I don't know what you mean, but that's probably MY fault. I think we are talking about installers. It's been YEARS since I have done one; my company distributes software via an ESD system by BMC Software that doesn't require installers.

So, if you are talking about installers and installer configurations, I won't be able to help out.

[Fresh123]

Well, thanks anyway ... is there anyone who knows how can I create the menu that jumps up to the screen when I enter a disc that require setup without installing a redist?

Here is an example:

Heroes III complete autorun.ini:

[Options]
WindowTitle=Heroes of Might and Magic® III Complete
AutorunClass=Heroes III autorun

[Hotspots]
;#=mx,my,mw,mh,x,y,w,h,exec_cmd,close_flag,hilite_bmp,mouse_over_wav,mouse_click_wav
1=34,142,131,120,34,142,0,0,APPPATH\heroes3.exe,1,play.bmp,highlite.wav,hotclik.wav
2=206,138,172,120,206,138,0,0,APPPATH\h3maped.exe,1,maped.bmp,highlite.wav,hotclik.wav
3=378,138,211,112,378,138,0,0,APPPATH\h3ccmped.exe,1,camped.bmp,highlite.wav,hotclik.wav
4=35,270,126,98,35,270,0,0,\_autorun\support\support.exe,1,more.bmp,highlite.wav,hotclik.wav
5=410,253,146,119,410,253,0,0,NONE,1,exit.bmp,highlite.wav,hotclik.wav

[Install]
RegKey=Software\New World Computing\Heroes of Might and Magic® III\1.0

So as you can see it's just tampletes so I managed to control the program from here -- the INI but how can I create the EXE?
Ohhh now I can see that when I delete the title setting it set's the title to "New World Computing's Autorun Toolkit" , maybe I'll find something about this but however, in every autorun I see this INI...

[matsom]

*.ini files are (at least according to Microsoft) relics of the past, for modern (vista/7) apps microsoft want you to put the app settings into windows' registry, same with autoruns that you (op) wants to put into your cd/dvd -my windows 7 simply wouldn't let me run those autosetups anymore, I have to do it manually (and answer a stooopid 'do you really want to run this?' question) each time I want to install something from the cd/dvd :\

OP wrote:

For using C++ Applications I need to install C++ Redist first, but how can I check if the C++ Redist is installed, and of course respond any case.

basically it should come with windows/windows service packs, so if your windows is updated then you should have one, if not, try this link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=a7b7a05e-6de6-4d3a-a423-37bf0912db84
IMO if your/target windows is properly configured, and the setup.exe/msi is correctly written the setup process will automatically download and configure a VC++ redistributable for the target computer (though, like webJose, I really don't work with windows setup.exe/msi files, just use it from time to time to install windows apps)

edit: in case my rambling post is not clear, *.ini files are files used by (old) windows apps to store the program's settings e.g starting folder, window size, default fonts etc.

[Fresh123]

Hi, thanks man, but I'm telling you that not everybody got the redist, and a lot of users using XP SP2, (about the way, if I'm not wrong microsoft gonna stop supporting XP's OS...) or even 1... so I want to make that menu..

[Fresh123]

Help? (Sorry matsom I didn't get your post .. )

[bartoli]

Are you talking about the redistribuable DLLs for Visual Studio runtime libray?
There's the solution of statically linking it in the EXEs and DLLs of your program, or maybe put the ones you need manually in the same folder as the exe so you know it will launch (and eventually after that propose to install them if they are not in system directories)

[Fresh123]

Ohhh this could be the solution !! Because I need to run the EXE without installing anything.
Well how do I do this?